Ex-Coronation Street director’s first novel takes us back to the turbulent beginning of the 20th Century

Kay Patrick used her experience from writing historical radio documentaries to put together her first novel, The Trial of Marie Montrecourt. “Some years ago, I’d been researching Victorian crime and came across a case that fascinated me,” explains Kay. “I used some of the incidents to create a story of my own, setting it in the Edwardian period – a time of hope, change, and political corruption.”

1899 and Marie Montrecourt arrives in Harrogate from France, an eighteen-year-old, penniless orphan, facing an uncertain future and knowing little of her past. Meanwhile in London, Evelyn Harringdon is dealing with the death of his father, one of the most influential men in Parliament and a hero of the first Boer War.

It would seem that these two events have little in common but they are linked by a scandal, one that is deeply buried in the past.

As Marie struggles to find a place for herself in her new life she is drawn into the fight for women’s rights, while Evelyn discovers that political corruption threatens to ruin his family’s good name.It is his obsession with discovering the truth that brings him into contact with Marie – a meeting that will prove dangerous for them both. They are prisoners of the past, and Evelyn’s attempt at atonement sets Marie on a path which will lead her into making a terrible choice. It’s one which will transform her from an innocent young woman into the central player in a notorious murder trial...

“The Trial of Marie Montrecourt is a strong and emotional story, set in an intriguing period of social change,” adds Kay.

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